...the dreaded head gasket problem.

 

Consider this a cautionary tale, but this one will hopefully ultimately have a happy ending where driver and her favorite Subie live happily ever after.

 

2003 Legacy sedan. 129K problem-free. Small oil leaks that I could smell dripping onto and evaporating on the manifold, but never anything major.

 

So when the weather hit the "miserable" mark here in New Hampshire, the fuel injector O-rings decided to crack and spew fuel all over the inside of my engine, prompting me to take the precious Subaru in for service. Poor financial situations and just plain bad luck have prevented me from getting any major preventative maintenance (short of tires, brakes, air filters and oil changes) done on the poor, neglected, daily-driver Subaru. So it was kind of a treat to be able to take her into my local independent Subaru mechanic to have her looked over. Sure enough, the O-rings had failed, so the mechanic replaced all of the injector O-rings and I went to pick up my Subie.

 

$211 out of my pocket, and the tech hands me my invoice. I look it over and note that "head gasket leaking oil" has replaced the "head gaskets seeping oil" that was present on the invoice last time.

 

Dang.

 

Oh well, Subie and I have spent 2 painful years together and logged over 30,000 miles. You know, it really can't be that bad. The car never runs hot at all and for all the abuse she suffers she does just fine. But the tech indicates that the head gasket is leaking coolant too, and while it's an external leak I begin to realize that no...I haven't escaped the travesty that is the EJ25.

 

Dang.

 

Oh, and the transmission lines are corroded and need to be repaired when I bring the Subie in for the transmission service in a month. $235. That's neither here nor there and it doesn't have anything to do with the head gaskets.

 

The tech quotes me $1550 worst case scenario. Removing the engine, tearing it down and sending out the heads for resurfacing (provided they aren't warped, which they shouldn't be given the fact that the vehicle hasn't been overheating), replacing the timing belt and the water pump, renewing the seals, and replacing the valve cover gaskets. Really seems too good to be true, but these guys are that good. I inwardly jump for joy that I will have virtually a new car with all sorts of life left in it...only it won't be 'til I've spent almost $2k in maintenance that should have just been taken care of proactively.

 

Mostly, I'm just thankful that I opted to take the car in when I smelt gas. Realistically, I should have taken the car in when I smelt oil. But being the nonchalant person I am, I took a rather relaxed approach to the whole deal of car maintenance and chalked it up to "harmless leak that's not affecting my oil level".

 

Moral to my lengthy narrative: please don't ignore the oil smell, no matter what engine you've got. Seriously. It could turn out a lot worse than my situation.

I'll take my chances......

 

 

 

If mine does get a blown HG, it's an excuse for a rebuild. How much overbore can one of these take? Anybody got a rod/ piston combo for a stroker figured out? More power!

<<$211 out of my pocket, and the tech hands me my invoice. I look it over and note that "head gasket leaking oil" has replaced the "head gaskets seeping oil" that was present on the invoice last time. >>

 

i think its time for a new mechanic since the headgaskets don't "control" or seal any oil flow.

<<$211 out of my pocket, and the tech hands me my invoice. I look it over and note that "head gasket leaking oil" has replaced the "head gaskets seeping oil" that was present on the invoice last time. >>

 

i think its time for a new mechanic since the headgaskets don't "control" or seal any oil flow.

 

My phase II 2.5 is leaking oil and coolant out of the HG's as well. I'm my own mechanic.

[...] But the tech indicates that the head gasket is leaking coolant too, and while it's an external leak I begin to realize that no...I haven't escaped the travesty that is the EJ25.

Before you panic, why not try Subaru Coolant Conditioner?

Before you panic, why not try Subaru Coolant Conditioner?

 

It only works for a short period of time after they have started leaking. It didn't help mine at all.

i think its time for a new mechanic since the headgaskets don't "control" or seal any oil flow.

 

This is so rediculous I almost don't want to touch it.

 

But for the benifit of others reading this:

 

There absolutely are no less than 3 seperate oil passages PER HEAD that are sealed by the headgasket. 1 oil supply to the heads (pressurized) and 2 return chambers, at the bottom of the heads (non pressurized). The passages at the bottom , the gasket is immersed continually in oil, and eventually it seeps between the layers of steel in the gasket..

 

I personally have not seen an EJ25 of any phase leaking coolant externally. But I guess that can happen too.

This is so rediculous I almost don't want to touch it.

 

But for the benifit of others reading this:

 

There absolutely are no less than 3 seperate oil passages PER HEAD that are sealed by the headgasket. 1 oil supply to the heads (pressurized) and 2 return chambers, at the bottom of the heads (non pressurized). The passages at the bottom , the gasket is immersed continually in oil, and eventually it seeps between the layers of steel in the gasket..

 

I personally have not seen an EJ25 of any phase leaking coolant externally. But I guess that can happen too.

 

Yeah I do have to say that it is mostly oil that is leaking on mine but there is definitely coolant as well

It only works for a short period of time after they have started leaking. It didn't help mine at all.

The results seem to vary, but considering that the conditioner is only a few dollars (often under $3) it may be worth the gamble. Of course, if the oil leakage is bad enough to merit changing the HGs anyway, then there may not be a point in trying to seal the coolant leak.

This is so rediculous I almost don't want to touch it.

 

But for the benifit of others reading this:

 

There absolutely are no less than 3 seperate oil passages PER HEAD that are sealed by the headgasket. 1 oil supply to the heads (pressurized) and 2 return chambers, at the bottom of the heads (non pressurized). The passages at the bottom , the gasket is immersed continually in oil, and eventually it seeps between the layers of steel in the gasket..

 

I personally have not seen an EJ25 of any phase leaking coolant externally. But I guess that can happen too.

 

Man am i glad you grabbed this before me!... I would of went to town on that...